Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Westmont) has grown tired of House Speaker Mike Madigan's excuses for not appearing before a Special House committee now probing some of his most questionable actions.
"Madigan has stated that he is not exercising his Fifth Amendment rights as an excuse to not appear before the Committee," she said in a September release posted to her website. "Thus, there should be no impediment to him providing testimony.
Mazzochi, who serves on the six-member bipartisan committee, raised objections after the state's longest-tenured lawmaker let it be known he has no intention of appearing before the panel is a three-page letter where he also defended his well-known penchant for patronage hiring, according to her release.
"Madigan's next excuse for non-appearance is, essentially, that he believes this entire process to be a 'political stunt'," she said in a September release. "It is a truth hunt. Gov. [J.B.] Pritzker and members of Madigan's own caucus have agreed that there are questions Madigan must answer. ..."
In addition to the committee's investigation, Madigan also finds himself at the center of an ongoing federal corruption probe involving ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme where all the perks were steered to him in exchange for favorable legislation.
Mazzochi insists Madigan owes voters answers and it's the job of the committee to get them.
"If the members of this Committee want sunshine and transparency, as I do, then the next step is to exercise the committee's power to subpoena witnesses," she said in a September release. "That the Chairman refused a vote on this today only delays the process of getting to the facts. Are we an investigating committee or not?"
The veteran lawmaker recently blasted Democrat Special Investigating Committee Chairman Chris Welch's decision to postpone all hearings into after the Nov. 3 election "act of cowardice".
"Chairman Welch's decision is an utter insult to the people of Illinois who want and deserve the truth," she said in an October release. "The Democrats are postponing Madigan's questioning under oath because they know we have difficult questions for him and what those marching under the banner of his authority have done.
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